ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
Government working on a comprehensive scheme for welfare of transgenders: Shri Rattan Lal Kataria
Minister of state for social Justice and empowerment, Sh Rattan lalKataria submitted a statement in the Parliament that the Government is working on an Umbrella Scheme that shall address issues like access to health, education, welfare, skill upgradation,shelter and economic support for livelihood of transgender persons. The statement was submitted in reply to a question raised by Shri AnumulaRevanth Reddy, a member of parliament from the Malkajgiri constituency in telangana.
The M.P enquired about the plan of the Government to allocate special funds for generating livelihood opportunities for the community and also about the data on number of transgenders currently working in public services.
Speaking to the mediapersons at the Parliament, MrKataria informed that in a first, the Government enacted the Transgenders persons  Act, 2019 which is a landmark step towards securing the welfare of this community. The Act deals with the most important and sensitive issue of granting certificate of identity to transgender persons and lays down a streamlined procedure for it. The Act also includes provisions for non-discrimination, equal opportunities in employment, provisions for making schemes on education, social security and accessible healthcare for the community. He informed that in November 2020, a National portal was launched by the Ministry, where in TG persons can apply for obtaining certificate of identity from the concerned District Magistrate. The portal does away with the requirement of any physical interface. So far, the portal has received 259 applications.
MrKataria added that the Government has constituted a National Council for Transgender Persons – a platform for the representatives of the community to bring forth the issues faced by them in their day to day life. This Council, he added, shall act as an Apex body for addressing the concerns of the community. The council is headed by the Minister of Social justice and Empowerment and draws participation from the officials of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Home Affairs, Housing and Urban Affairs, Education, Rural Development, Labour and Employment, Legal affairs, NITI Aayog etc.
Regarding help extended to the community during the COVID Pandemic, MrKataria informed that a one time assistance of Rs 1500 per TG person was provided by the Ministry through the NCBCFDC. A total of 5711 TG persons benefitted through the DBT. In addition to it, ration kits were also distributed through the District Administration. Medical Camps were also organized in 8 states and attended by 1005 TG persons.
MrKataria mentioned that the Government is fully committed to holistically address the issues faced by the community and correct the historical injustice and neglect, the community has been subjected to since time immemorial.
Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
1.1 crore Houses approved under PMAY so far
Construction of 1,68,606 New Houses approved under PMAY
52nd Meeting of Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee held
“Focus on Completion & Delivery of Houses to beneficiaries”: Durga Shanker Mishra
Construction of 1,68,606 new houses have been approved in the 52nd Meeting of the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee  under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana . 14 States/UTs participated in this meeting. These houses are proposed to be constructed across the verticals of Beneficiary Led Construction, Affordable Housing in Partnership and In-Situ Slum Redevelopment. The states also put in their proposals for revision of projects due to various issues such as, of land, topographical hazards, inter-city migration, change of preferences of verticals etc. Construction is in various stages in more than 70 Lakh houses and more than 41 Lakh houses have been completed.
Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, MoHUA who presided over the meeting urged the States/UTs to strategize the expeditious implementation of PMAY projects. “The progress under the Mission has been steady. We have to move towards completion of houses with all the basic physical and social infrastructure,” he said. “The States/UTs shall focus on completion and delivery of houses to beneficiaries. He further urged the States/UTs to expedite the implementation of Affordable Rental Housing Complexes  scheme.
‘All the States/UTs may also learn from the six Light House Projects  initiated in six cities , namely, Agartala , Ranchi , Lucknow , Indore , Rajkot  and Chennai . The technology can be replicated and scaled across the country for mass housing ,” he said.
This was the second CSMC meeting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is committed to provide pucca houses to all eligible beneficiaries of Urban India by 2022 when the Nation will celebrate 75th Independence. With the vision of ‘Housing for All’, the emphasis has been to accelerate construction, completion and delivery of houses across the country within stipulated time under PMAY.
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
Shri Nitin Gadkari calls for reduction in road accidents and deaths by 50% by 2024
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari called upon all the state transport ministers and officials to work together to reduce road accidents and deaths by 50% by 2024. In an interactive session with the state transport Ministers in Bengaluru today Shri Gadkari said Issue of road safety should not be taken lightly. He said road accidents should be reviewed constantly and rectified. The Minister proposed training engineering students for conducting safety audits of the roads on the basis of which action can be taken by the Ministry.
In the session State Transport /PWD Ministers raised their issues related to highway infrastructure and shared their problems and urged the Central Government to resolve them.
The State Ministers who attended the session included Shri Govindas Kounthujam , Shri Prafull Kumar Mallik , Shri Satpal Maharaj , Shri Harbhajan Singh , Shri Bhajan Lal Jatav , Shri Samdup Lapcha , Shri A.V. Velu , Shri Nilesh Kabra , Arvind Chauhan . Besides, Principal Secretaries and Secretaries of PWD Ministries of various states were also present .
Shri Kounthujam said 90% areas are hilly and there are problems with land acquisition with regard to National Highway projects. “But we are trying to solve these problems and soon we will be able to get land,” he said. He said we want to develop highway infrastructure at par with other states.
Talking about the issues of Sikkim, Shri Samdup Lapcha said state faces resource crunch and tourism is the only source of economy. “We survive on tourism. It will be good if get an alternated road from Bankura to Sikkim, This will also be good in terms of security,” he said.
Tamil Nadu Minister Shri Velu spoke about the steps taken by the State Government to make the State accident-free. “More than 300 engineers have been trained. We have also launched sensitization programme for school students in the state,” he pointed out.
Talking about Uttarakhand, Shri Satpal Maharaj said “In view of incidents of landslides, which damage the highways, landslide and mitigation centre has been set up to look for ways to minimize these damages,” he said. Shri Gadkari said he is getting full support from the Uttarakhand Government in the Char Dham Pariyojana.
Rajasthan Minister Shri Bhajan Lal Jatav urged the Centre for giving new National Highways to the states. He also informed that a increase the width of the National Highways in order to reduce the cases of accidents. He also said that a road safety bill has been introduced in the state.
Shri Harbhajan Singh, PWD Minister of Punjab, urged the Centre to help build new links and bridges along the border areas, for which he demanded additional funds.
MJPS
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Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Principal Scientific Adviser Holds Meeting with Leading MNCs to Position India as a Favoured Destination for R&D
The Principal Scientific Adviser  to the Government of India held a meeting with leading multi-national companies, who have substantial R&D presence in India, on 16 July in New Delhi, to position India as a favoured destination for Research & Development  by MNC’s in India.
The interaction focused on suggestions from nearly 35 multi-national industry leaders from various sectors to address issues and challenges in establishing R&D operations and investments in India. Global best practices were shared to facilitate closer integration with the Indian research and innovation ecosystem. The discussion was chaired by Prof. K VijayRaghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India along with other Government stakeholders, including Department of Science and Technology, NITI Aayog, Ministry of Human Resource Development,Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises and was attended by over 70 participants.
The topics covered included deliberations on emerging areas of research and innovation, sharing of data on R&D investments, operational issues and challenges faced by MNCs in India, adoption of best global practices for establishing closer linkages with national R&D institutions and academia, talent development and sourcing, strategic partnerships to bolster R&D in India and integrating with the domestic start-up ecosystem.
The key recommendations from the MNC perspective was to provide a single window support to industries to lessen the operational challenges in enhancing their R&D investments, inter-ministerial policy and programme to enable closer engagement of MNCs in national research and innovation eco-system, regular interaction platform between government and MNCs for scaling up of research and innovation partnerships.
The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, through the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council , plays an enabling role in synergizing cross-sectoral collaborations across scientific ministries, research institutions and industry partners to leverage science, technology and innovation for contributing to the knowledge economy and growth of the country.
Ministry of Heavy Industries
Special Campaign 2.0 in Ministry of Heavy Industries focusses on cleanliness and minimizing pendency
In a remarkable achievement Ministry exceeds the targets set for the Campaign
Under the campaign 52445 files weeded out; nearly 20 lakh sq. feet space freed
Rs. 5.71 crore revenue generated through sale proceeds of the scrap disposal
Daily progress monitored and uploaded on DARPG portal
Drawing inspiration from Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi’s vision and mission to institutionalize swachhata and minimize pendency in Government, Ministry of Heavy Industries has launched a Special Campaign 2.0 from 2nd October to 31st October 2022 with special impetus on disposal of pendency, achieving space management and making the environment clean and green.
Taking forward this objective, Ministry has already exceeded the targets set for the Campaign and achieved remarkable success in space freed for gainful utilisation and revenue generated from disposal of scrap and redundant material.
Ministry along with its CPSEs spread across the country and Autonomous Bodies is actively working towards disposing scrap and waste material, thus creating 20.32 lakh sq. feet space for gainful utilisation like office space, gymnasium, library, canteen etc. and making the environment healthy.
Activities relating to cleanliness, review/weeding out of files, productive use of space, etc. are being undertaken in all the offices of the Ministry. Special training is being imparted to officers in record management, digitization of physical records.
During the campaign 84890 files have been reviewed out of which 52445 files have been weeded out. Revenue to the tune of Rs. 5.71 crore have been generated through the sale proceeds of the scrap disposal.
Daily progress is being monitored by a dedicated team and uploaded on the SCPDM portal hosted by Department of Administrative Reforms and public Grievances. Spirit of cleanliness and festive fervour towards cleanliness is in its peak.
The month-long campaign is set to conclude on 31st October 2022, but in the Ministry all the officers and staff have made swachhata a way of life which will never end and grow more and more.
Ministry of Women and Child Development
Mission Vatsalya Scheme
Mission Vatsalya Scheme is a roadmap to achieve development and child protection priorities aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals . It lays emphasis on child rights, advocacy and awareness along with strengthening of the juvenile justice care and protection system with the motto to 'leave no child behind'. The Juvenile Justice  Act, 2015 provisions and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 form the basic framework for implementation of the Mission. Funds under the Mission Vatsalya Scheme are released according to the requirements and demands made by the States/UTs.
The Scheme is implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in partnership with State Governments and UT Administrations to support the States and UTs in universalizing access and improving quality of services across the country. The fund sharing pattern is in the ratio of 60:40 between Centre and State & Union Territories with Legislature respectively. The fund sharing pattern between Centre and State is in the ratio of 90:10 for the North-Eastern States viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura and two Himalayan States viz. Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and UT of Jammu and Kashmir. For Union Territories without Legislature, it is 100% central share.
Mission Vatsalya scheme supports the children through Non-Institutional Care under Private Aided Sponsorship wherein interested sponsors  can provide assistance to children in difficult circumstances. The District Magistrates take measures to encourage individuals or Public/ Private Sector Organisations to sponsor a child or a group of children or an Institution. Such arrangements are subject to stipulations as per the Juvenile Justice  Act, 2015, and Rules thereof.
This information was given by the Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Steel
NMDC Wins National Awards For Excellence In CSR And Sustainability
NMDC, the country’s largest iron ore producer, has been conferred with National Awards for Excellence in CSR and Sustainability bestowed by ET Ascent in Bengaluru today. Company’s Director  Shri Dilip Kumar Mohanty received the accolades presented to NMDC for Sustainable Income Generation and Best Overall CSR Excellence.
Commending his team’s meticulous efforts towards CSR and Sustainability, Shri Sumit Deb, CMD, NMDC said, “As the country’s mining major, NMDC is committed to shape a sustainable and resilient future for India. We are consulting with our stakeholders on every step and harnessing the power of technology at our mines to ensure growth for our company and the community.”
The mining major has invested decades in enhancing the quality of life of its host communities while ensuring that the development is socio-culturally sustainable. NMDC’s CSR Focus Areas - Education, Health, Skill Development, Infrastructure, and Safe Drinking Water are creating value and opportunities for people in the hinterlands of India. The company has demonstrated consciousness and commitment in its approach towards the environment. Known as the Eco-Friendly Miners, NMDC’s responsible mine planning has been lauded by the Indian Bureau of Mines with a 5 Star Rating to all its complexes.
Shri Dilip Kumar Mohanty expressed his gratitude to ET Ascent for honouring NMDC’s contribution towards the social and sustainable development of our nation. He said, “NMDC is working relentlessly to achieve our nation building goals of mineral security, sustainability and self-reliance.”
Ministry of Defence
EXERCISE LA PEROUSE – 2023
Indian Navy’s indigenously built guided missile frigate, INS Sahyadri and fleet tanker, INS Jyoti participated in the third edition of the multilateral exercise La Perouse conducted from 13 - 14 March 2023. The exercise was conducted in the Indian Ocean Region, and was aimed at enhancing maritime domain awareness and optimising maritime coordination amongst the participating navies in the Indo-Pacific Region.
In addition to Indian Naval ships, the exercise witnessed participation of HMAS Perth from the Royal Australian Navy, FS Dixmude and FS La Fayette from the French Navy, JMSDF ship Suzutsuki from Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force along with Type SH 60 J Helicopter, HMS Tamar from the Royal Navy and USS Charleston the the United States Navy. The two day exercise provided all the participating navies an opportunity to undertake complex and advanced naval operations involving replenishment at sea, surface warfare drills, anti-air and air-defence exercises, cross deck helicopter operations and tactical manoeuvres in a joint manner suitable for seamless maritime operations.
INS Sahyadri, is an indigenously designed and built guided missile stealth frigate fitted with state-of –the art weapons and sensors, which makes her capable of detecting and neutralising air, surface and sub-surface threats. INS Jyoti is a fleet tanker capable of providing prolonged sustenance at sea to the fleet. Both the ships are a part of Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet based at Visakhapatnam and function under the operational command of the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command.
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Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Nationwide Cumulative Vaccination Coverage exceeds 19 Crore
India Conducts Highest ever 20.61 Lakh Tests in the last 24 hours; Sets Another New Record
Daily Positivity Rate Declines to 12.59%
Daily Recoveries Outnumber Daily New Cases for 8th Consecutive Day
Less than 3 Lakh daily New Cases for five successive day
India has achieved a new milestone in its vaccination drive as the cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has exceeded 19 Cr  today under the Phase-3 of the nationwide Vaccination Drive.
A total of 19,18,79,503 vaccine doses have been administered through 27,53,883 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today. These include 97,24,339 HCWs who have taken the 1st dose and 66,80,968 HCWs who have taken the 2nddose, 1,47,91,600 FLWs , 82,85,253 FLWs , 86,04,498 beneficiaries under 18-44 age group , 5,98,35,256  and 95,80,860  beneficiaries aged 45 to 60 years.5,62,45,627 1stdose beneficiaries and 1,81,31,102 2nd dose beneficiaries of more than 60 years old.
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|
HCWs
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
97,24,339
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2nd Dose
|
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66,80,968
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FLWs
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
1,47,91,600
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2nd Dose
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82,85,253
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Age Group 18-44 years
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1st Dose
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86,04,498
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Age Group 45 to 60 years
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1st Dose
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5,98,35,256
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2nd Dose
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95,80,860
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Over 60 years
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1st Dose
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5,62,45,627
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2nd Dose
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1,81,31,102
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Total
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19,18,79,503
Ten states account for 66.32% of the total doses given so far in the country.
More than 20.61 Lakh tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. With this achievement, India again set a new record of the highest ever tests conducted in a single day.
On another front, the daily positivity rate has declined to 12.59%.
India’s Daily Recoveries continue to outnumber the Daily New Cases for the eighth consecutive day. 3,57,295 recoveries were registered in the last 24 hours.
India’s cumulative recoveries have reached 2,27,12,735 today. The National Recovery Rate has grown further to touch 87.25%.
Ten states account for 74.55% of the new recoveries.
In another positive development, India has recorded less than 3 lakh new cases for five consecutive days now.
2,59,551 Daily New Cases were registered in the last 24 hours.
Ten States reported 76.66% of thenew cases in last 24 hours. Tamil Nadu has reported the highest daily new cases at 35,579, followed by Kerala with 30,491new cases.
On the other hand, India’s total Active Caseload has decreased to 30,27,925 today.
A net decline of 1,01,953is witnessed in the last 24 hours. It now comprises 11.63% of the country's total Positive Cases.
8 States cumulatively account for 69.47% of India’s total Active Cases.
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Special Issue of Global Trade and Customs Journal Launched
A special issue of the Global Trade and Customs Journal was launched at a function held in the India Islamic Cultural Centre, New Delhi on 15 November, 2019.The special issue was edited by Dr. James J. Nedumpara, Head and Professor of the Centre for Trade and Investment Law, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade and published by Wolters Kluwer, Netherlands. The Journal launch was followed by panel discussions on the theme “India in the International Economic Order: Issues and Perspectives”.
Additional Secretary, Sudhanshu Pandey, Department of Commerce in his inaugural address said thattrade agreements are important as investors tend to look not just at the foreign markets, but how investments could be harnessed to achieve greater access and integration in goods and services. He further stated that trade and investment policies need to be examined holistically and an integrated manner rather than within inter-ministerial silos.
The Special Issue of Global Trade and Customs Journal has compiled articles pertaining to India and its involvement in the international trading system. The Journal has focused on topical issues such as India’s engagement with regional trade agreements, India’s position on electronic commerce and the need for flexibilities for developing countries such as the Generalized System of Preferences  and the availability of import restrictive measures in agriculture, especially when there is a domestic glut.
The panel discussions were chaired by Dr. Ram Upendra Das, Professor and Head, Centre for Regional Trade.Presentations were made by Ambassador V S Seshadri, India’s former Ambassador to Myanmar, Dr. Veena Jha, former India Co-ordinator of UNCTAD and Partner,Ikdhwaj Advisors, Prof. Abhijit Das, Professor and Head, Centre for WTO Studies, Ms. R V Anuradha, Partner, Clarus Law, Mr. Parthasarathy Jha,Economic Laws Practice, Dr.PrabhashRanjan, South Asian University, and Ms. Rohini Sisodia, Of Counsel. Theparticipants noted that the decision of a country to adopt a defensive or offensive trade policy may be done only after analysing the country’s trade and export promotion profile and domestic sensibilities.